This blog is an attempt to preserve, document & share Pakistan's contemporary & traditional culinary heritage. It tells stories and shares recipes from my maternal grand mother and mother's kitchens along with my own stories and memories of growing up in Pakistan.

Sunday, 26 May 2013

Gulab Jaman

In my part of the world every celebration is accompanied with a dessert. Be it a wedding, an engagement, a birth, a promotion, a graduation,
purchase of a house or a new car or festival of Eid, our happy moments are incomplete without sharing of the traditional desserts or Mithais with our friends and family. And nothing is more loved on such occasions
than the humble Gulab Jamans. It is one of my favorite Pakistani dessert.

In Pakistan, Gulab Jaman - a methai (sweets) is never
made at home. Specialized methai makers called halwayees make these treasured
and celebrated sweets. So while celebrating, one always buys these sweets from the best halwayee (methai maker) in town. My favorite methai maker
has been Nirala sweets since as long as I can remember. No one makes better
methai than them. I had to learn how to make Gulab Jamans at home after moving away from
Pakistan as I could not buy them in market anymore.

I am sharing the recipe that has knowledge assimilation
from various resources. Pakistan has just gone through a historic election and I am celebrating hope for a better Pakistan. Insha Allah – God Willing. Here
is the recipe.

Ingredients:

For Dough;

Powdered Milk – ½ cup

Yogurt – 2 tbsp

Flour: 2 tbsp

Butter – 1 tbsp (melted)

Baking soda – ¼ tsp

For sugar syrup:

Sugar – 1 cup

Water – 2 cups

Saffron - 5-6 strands

Rose water – 4 tbsp (I am using Khevra water as I was out of
rose water)

Step 3: Fry the dough. Make small (Maltesers sized) balls
of the dough with partially wet fingers. Make sure the dough balls have no
cracks on the surface. This dough is enough to make 15 balls.

Step 4 : Frying. Deep fry the dough balls on medium to high heat.
They should fry gently and become golden brown. Too hot oil will turn them
brown from outside but will leave them uncooked from inside. Be careful with
the heat.

Phase 5 : Add Rose water to the warm sugar syrup. Now add the fried dough balls to the warm sugar syrup.
Mix and cover. I usually make the gulab jamans overnight and let them soak up
sugar syrup through the night. They taste heavenly in the morning. I decided to roll them in dried coconut, but they can be served with or without dried coconut.